1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an upper support for vehicle suspension that fixes a shock absorber onto a mounting portion of a vehicle body in a vehicle suspension.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in vehicle suspension mechanisms, a shock absorber and a mounting portion of the vehicle body are connected via an upper support for vehicle suspension (hereinafter called “upper support” as appropriate) in order to reduce vibration transmission from the wheel side to the vehicle body side through the shock absorber.
Such an upper support, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-2002-227908 for example, has a construction including:
an inner cylindrical member to which a shock absorber is adapted to be attached; an outer cylindrical member spaced apart peripherally outward from the inner cylindrical member and adapted to be mounted onto a mounting portion of a vehicle body; and a rubber elastic body connecting the inner and outer cylindrical members. With one end of the shock absorber elastically supported by the vehicle body, vibrations transmitted from the wheel side to the vehicle body side through the shock absorber will be suppressed.
As described in JP-A-2002-227908, the outer cylindrical member of the upper support includes a flange portion adapted to be overlapped with the mounting portion of the vehicle body, and the upper support is fixed to the vehicle body by means of a fastening member such as bolts via mounting holes formed in the flange portion. In many cases, the mounting portion of the vehicle body is formed by press working of a metal plate, and besides, the mounting portion sometimes be slightly waved due to punching of the bolt holes or the like. This may cause a slight gap between the flange portion of the upper support and the mounting portion of the vehicle body, at which the flange portion repeatedly comes into contact against and rebounds from the mounting portion of the vehicle body due to vibrations during driving or the like, posing a risk of making noises.
In order to address this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-2003-185025 discloses a construction including a cushioning member made of an elastic body interposed between the outer cylindrical member and the mounting portion of the vehicle body. However, this construction has a problem of causing an increased number of components as well as increased assembly steps for attaching the cushioning member.